Makena Capital Management, bowing to the needs of its most important investors, has launched a new hedge fund with easier redemption terms than offered by its five-year-old flagship.

The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm said its new Liquid Endowment Fund will allow clients to get one-third of their money out within a quarter, and all of it within two years, by avoiding illiquid investments. The firm's main fund has a two-year lockup and redemption terms that could keep some of a client's money tied up for eight years.

"The big driver for this portfolio was that our clients were coming to us and wanted something that allowed for more flexibility," chief investment officer Eric Upin told Reuters. Makena, founded by former Stanford University endowment chief Michael McCaffery, has a long roster of college and university endowment clients.

"These type of clients have very long time horizons but they also face liabilities," Upin explained.

The new fund has already attracted $300 million, both from existing and new investors. Makena manages some $13 billion overall; it was the largest-ever hedge fund launch, with $7 billion, at the time of its debut.